Summary: In celebration of one successful year of being Hokage, Kushina throws a surprise party for Minato, bringing the rest of the village in on the surprise.

Age: Minato is 21, Kushina is 20, going to turn 21 in July!

Category: MinaKushi!

Note: for the Fourth of July, I did something for the Fourth Hokage and his wife!! MINAKUSHI FOR-FRICKING-EVER!!!! The dates might be off... sorry about that... idk, I wanted to do a MinaKushi. Rin and Obito are alive, and everyone is together! I needed this to be happy. Oh. And the song is lovely. U should listen to it.

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Kushina was in a good mood. She woke up to hear the birds singing. It was a beautiful day. Beside her, her husband was passed out. The poor man was worked endlessly, as he was the Hokage, and that meant paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Kushina went to his office daily to check on him, and was always worried about the amount of papers that sat on his desk.

She got up, showered, and got ready for her day. She decided she would go visit her good friend Mikoto and her son Itachi, then go shopping and run errands.

She wanted to get an early start, but Minato was definitely supposed to sleep in. Just because it was Saturday didn't mean Minato didn't have to go to the office. He could decide whether to take Saturday off or not. Kushina personally hoped he would, so he could get some rest before going back.

Now that she thought about it, it had been around one year since Minato had become Hokage. He had done a marvelous job, at that. His students had thrived. Rin had become a talented med-nin. Obito was becoming an apprentice to the Konoha Police Force. Kakashi had joined the ANBU, and everything seemed to be okay for the while.

As Kushina's mind was spinning, she decided that there hadn't been a village-wide party this year. Normally, Kushina orchestrated a massive party. Last year, it was a blast. Everyone that wanted to came to enjoy themselves. Kushina had befriended more civilians and ninja than she ever thought possible in that one night.

"It's about time we do it again." Kushina mused, preparing Minato's breakfast. "And this year, it should be about Minato. He's worked tirelessly for the village this past year. He definitely deserves a party."

She resolved to organise it all today, and have it tomorrow. She drew up a list of things she would need, then she drew up a list of people she could trust to get them around.

The food would be done by the Akimichi clan, headed by Kushina's friend, the clan head, Choza. The Hyūga were often happy with the fireworks job, so she resolved to leave that to their friend Hiashi and his younger brother Hizashi. They would be very happy to be put in charge of this.

Mebuki and Mikoto would obviously want to help with the food, and Fugaku would provide protection for Minato, alongside his ANBU guard. Shikaku Nara would help plan everything out.

Aburame Shibi, Inuzuka Tsume and Yamanaka Inoichi would be useful in spreading the word about it...

Kushina had this festival slash party halfway planned out by the time she had written a note to Minato saying she would be gone for the day, and for him to take it easy and rest.

She met up with her friends, and had them spread the word to the others. that she was having a party in Minato's honor, and she needed their help. She ended at Mikoto's house, which was where she was heading anyway, and was squatting, playing with her four year old.

Itachi was the most intelligent child Kushina had ever seen, his eyes held so much wisdom, it felt like they should belong to an old man. It was amazing. They poured into her soul. Itachi played with her innocently, but Kushina had a feeling he was even smarter than he was letting on.

Later, Kushina and Mikoto sat at the table, sipping tea and discussing what it would be like.

It would be held on Sunday evening, and would go on for the rest of the night. Monday would be a day of rest. Kushina would have Minato make that an official decree.

The two agreed that Minato was not to know what was going on, and called the people Kushina had put on her list, along with a few more that Mikoto knew would be helpful. They gathered around Mikoto's kitchen table, drawing up plans, and rounding the amount of everything.

Since this was completely short notice, they worked well into the night. When Fugaku returned from work, he also began writing a security detail plan for tomorrow. After all, Minato was the Hokage, and this was a party.

Sooner or later, Kushina sent out Tsume, Inoichi and Shibi, and they began spreading the word to the villagers and ninja about what was happening. It caused a large buzz, but they managed to contain it so Minato wouldn't hear about it.

Minato's students were also invited to the conference, and were tasked with distracting the Hokage as the preparations were being made. So when Minato got restless, and began to wander the village, Kakashi, Rin and Obito showed up to distract him. First they suggested a spar, then decided that tomorrow, they would 'hang out' all day with Minato-sensei.

Minato was confused. They never had days like this as a team. He was happy about it, but he was wondering what was so special about tomorrow. But he loved his little students, and didn't mind much.

Kushina sighed leaning against the wall. She took a deep sip of her tea, letting it clear up her sinuses. She always got allergies during the spring, which was why she preferred summer. The planning was going fabulously, and tomorrow, everything would be set up.

Team Minato was ready to go, and the Akimichi family was busy making the food. The Hyūga brothers assured Kushina that the fireworks would be able to last most of the night. Fugaku was working late on the security detail, but so was Kushina.

Everyone else in the village had been warned, and told that if the Hokage should come by, to keep him as distracted as possible.

Finally, when the plans and designing couldn't get any better, Kushina hugged Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi, and bid them goodnight. She thanked them for all their help, then walked, dead tired, back to her home.

Minato was there, waiting for her with dinner ready. He was seated on the couch reading a book when Kushina walked in.

"Tadaima!" Kushina shouted enthusiastically, as usual.

"Okaeri!" Minato smiled up at her, standing up. He wrapped her in his arms, and Kushina smiled into his blue shirt. "I made you food, in case you were hungry." He pulled back enough to see her face.

Kushina flashed him a large grin. "Domo arigato, Minato." She said, sitting at the table. Minato moved from the couch to the seat at the head of the table with his book, and began to quietly read as Kushina ate.

Then he looked up, raising an eyebrow at her as she wolfed down her food. "So," He began, smirking. "Where have you been all day?" He asked.

Kushina choked, then plastered a dizzy smile on her face. "Running errands! I stopped at Mikoto and Fugaku's house for awhile. Itachi is so adorable!" She gushed, trying her best to lie to her husband.

"He is?" Minato asked, an amused look on his face. He could tell when his wife was hiding something from him, because she was always so obvious about it. "I see. How was Fugaku doing?"

"He and Mikoto were doing great." Kushina said loudly, almost squeaking.

Minato chuckled quietly. He stood up and took Kushina's plate to the sink, where he washed it. "Kushina~" he called, putting the dish in a cupboard. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing!" Kushina said, sending him a big smile. "Nothing at all."

"For an amazing shinobi, you're a terrible liar, Kushina." Minato grinned at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and peering into her eyes with his bright blue ones. Kushina had always hoped if they had a child, he or she would inherit Minato's beautiful blue eyes.

Kushina sighed. "Its nothing, Minato, 'ttebane. I swear. Mikoto and I were just talking about Itachi. He's been moving up. He saw a lot in the war... I don't know. She was worried about him. We talked for hours. The poor woman was inconsolable. She couldn't talk to Fugaku about it, since he supports moving the boy up all the time." Kushina batted her eyelashes at her husband.

"I, erm... suppose i could have a conversation with Fugaku." Minato scratched the back of his neck, a beautiful, sheepish smile on his face.

"Good boy," Kushina beamed, reaching up and ruffling Minato's hair. Minato's smile widened. Then she faked a yawn. "Well, I'm exhausted, anata. Are you coming to bed soon?"

"I'll go with you now," Minato said, removing his hands from her waist and picking up his book from the counter, before following her up to. "I was just reading Jiraiya-sensei's book. Tales of a Gutsy Ninja is a beautiful story."

"Really?" Kushina asked, interested. She knew Jiraiya-sama wrote books, but she didn't think they were the kind Minato enjoyed. Maybe this one was different. "Can I borrow it after you're done?"

"Definitely." Minato said. They performed the normal routine, brushing their teeth, reading a little. The two of them went to bed, content with the day. Minato had gotten the rest he needed, and Kushina had gotten so much done, tomorrow would be a breeze.

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Minato yawned, blinking his eyes open. Kushina wasn't at his side, again. He reached over and stroked the sheets on her side. They were cold. Minato sat up and tilted his head, deciding she had been gone for at least an hour. He sighed. He was resigned to the fact that she was busy. She was the Hokage's wife, and she had her own job to perform. She was often frequenting the village, befriending the residents and ninja. She was everything the Hokage's wife should be and more.

But leaving so abruptly yesterday had put Minato on edge. No matter what Kushina said, or how convincing she may be, Minato knew for certain that talking with Mikoto was not all she did yesterday.

He was definitely going to get to the bottom of it.

He did the normal morning routine. Brushed his teeth, took a shower, read a little before making his bed and heading downstairs. He wandered around the house, just in case Kushina was there somewhere, but, like he predicted, she wasn't. He strolled into the kitchen, turning his blonde head. There was breakfast on the dining room table, just like Kushina did yesterday. A note sat at the side of the plate, just like yesterday.

Ohayo, Anata

This is Kushina, and if you're reading this, I'm not home. Don't worry about me, I'll see you later today!

Mikoto and Mebuki and the rest of the girls are meeting up at Ichiraku Ramen, so I'll be there if you need me, dattebane.

Make sure you take a nap today, okay?

Jā ne!

"Nap?" Minato asked the house out loud. That was something that hadn't been on yesterday's paper. He scanned the note again, and determined that something different was happening today.

He stared at the food left for him on the table, then got ready to walk around. First, he would stop by Ichiraku's, then Fugaku's house. If Kushina wasn't at these places, Kushina wasn't in this world.

He was at the door when he heard banging around the kitchen.

His eyes narrowed, and he tip toed to the room. He gently pried open the door, and peeked inside.

Rin was putting a piece of bread in the toaster, removing the butter from the fridge. When she heard the kitchen door open, she looked up and grinned sheepishly at Minato. "Ohayo, sensei..."

"Rin?" Minato asked, getting out of his defensive position, confused. He looked around the kitchen and noticed his other students lazying around there. "Kakashi? Obito?" He asked.

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Yo." He said, then looked back down. Nevermind that he was sitting on the counter.

Obito was at the table, speed-eating Minato's breakfast, that he had left untouched. "Hey, sensei." He said, looking up at Minato quickly, before looking back down at Minato's food. He shoveled another spoonful into his mouth, then it seemed to register that Minato was there. He stood up quickly, grinning sheepishly. "Ermmmm, hey, sensei!! How did you sleep?"

"Fine, thank you. Mind explaining why you three are in here, digging through my food?" Minato asked, putting a hand on his hips and glaring at each of them individually.

Kakashi finally put his book down and eyed Minato warily.  "Yes, we do mind, actually." Kakashi said, jumping down from the counter. "The only reason we can say is we planned this yesterday, and you were there. So yes,  we mind. Why don't YOU explain why we're here digging through your food?"

Minato shrugged. "We were gonna go training later. But I assumed that was later."

"Nothing is ever 'later'." Obito laughed. "You were the one that taught us that, forget?"

"Touché." Minato laughed. "Help yourselves. We'll go get something to eat later."

The three exchanged glances. "Let's just have a picnic. I'll make it!" Rin exclaimed. 

"I like that idea. Let's do it." Minato said, catching the look. He resolved to investigate further into his students' off behavior.

He headed for the front door, but before he could open it, his students were there, in a speed rivaling his own, blocking the door desperately.

An eyebrow arched. "What are you doing?" Minato asked, confused.

"Em.... the cherry blossoms are in bloom! We'll go through the backyard." Obito said, turning Minato by the shoulders. Together, all three shoved Minato towards the back door.

"Why can't we just go through the village? The forest would take longer."

"But the view would be better!" Run exclaimed.

"But--"

"Just go!" Kakashi shoved Minato out the door. "Obito, Rin and I all want to go through the forest. Majority rules."

"Fine!" Minato mumbled, stalking down the porch and into the grass. "But you guys are treating me to wherever I want for dinner."

"Deal!" Rin shouted exasperatedly. "Please just walk, sensei!"

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Kushina had left the house early, and was now running around, preparing everything. She and Tsume had already gotten into three fights, Inoichi had accidentally invited Danzo, and Choza had messed up the order, but after all that was fixed, the party was up and rolling.

The villagers had been prepared for the evening's festivities, so they eased into it with little to no problems.

Then Fugaku said he wanted to go find Minato and protect him from wherever he was.

And all hell broke loose.

"YOU'LL JUST TIP HIM OFF THAT SOMETHING IS HAPPENING!"

"He probably already knows! He's the Hokage! For Kami's sake, Kushina, STOP BEING SO STUBBORN!"

"When you stop being STUPID, then maybe!"

"Insulting me won't make me drop the matter!"

"Well, Fugaku, when I drop my fist on your head, WE'LL SEE!"

Mikoto and Tsume separated the two, who were fighting like cats and dogs, but that didn't stop them from yelling across from each other.

"Do you even UNDERSTAND the definition of SURPRISE PARTY, YOU IDIOT?" Kushina shot at the Uchiha, poking her head around Mikoto and Hizashi.

"Telling the WHOLE VILLAGE but him makes the chances of it still being a 'surprise' a lot less!" Fugaku countered, fighting against Tsume and Choza.

"YEAH, WELL, WHATEVER, 'TTEBANE!!!"

"Kushina, you must calm down!" Mikoto spoke in soothing tones. "You're scaring the guests!"

Kushina stopped struggling and looked down from the Hokage's tower at the giant crowd of people, who watched anxiously at the bottom. "Oops...."

"Oops is right." Mikoto let go. "Fugaku, go get him. Bring him up here, and WE'LL start the festival. Won't we, Kushina?" She asked pointedly.

"Yes," She said to her friend.

"Good." Mikoto purred, standing back with a pleased smirk on her face. She began organizing everyone, and getting their places along the streets ready.

She finally turned to Kushina. "Minato is coming soon, and it will be your job to entertain him. Understood?"

"H-hai?" Kushina asked, confused. Mikoto winked slyly at her, and she realized what she meant. Blushing, she nodded.

"Make sure this is the best night he has ever had." Mikoto said, smirk growing larger. "And of course, enjoy the fireworks."

"Yosh, dattebane!" Kushina exclaimed. "Thank you for everything, Mikoto. I owe you one."

"Hn." Mikoto tilted her head. "I bet I can find some way you can help me out." She said, her smirk growing almost... deadly. "How does watching Itachi sound to you? Or, of course, target practice."

Kushina gasped. "You're evil!"

Mikoto winked. "In all seriousness, have fun, dear." Then she was gone, probably taking care of someone else.

Kushina shuddered. She loved Mikoto to death, but sometimes she was downright terrifying. She hoped Itachi wouldn't inherit her scary traits.

Then she heard the intense swishing of a ninja running, and Kakashi appeared. "Kushina! Obito and Rin are coming, and they have the Package!"

"Perfect." She said, nodding. "Domo arigato, Kakashi-kun."

"It's nothing. Have fun!" He shouted over his shoulder, disappearing over the edge of the building.

Kushina shook her head fondly. Sure enough, Rin and Obito delivered Minato to Kushina, on the roof of the Tower he works at.

"Kushina?" He asked, confused. Obito and Rin disappeared silently, probably to find their friends and enjoy the festival.

"Ah! Minato!" Kushina walked over and gave him a big hug. "Welcome to your little festival!"

"...What?" Minato asked, looking down at the red head.

"Come on! Lets go have some fun!" She took his hands in hers and jumped down to the roof of the next house. The couple landed on the floor and went to the first booth. They tried all the food they could stomach. Played all the games they could without loosing energy, since Kushina was a bundle of said substance. They teamed up with Mikoto and Fugaku, and completely destroyed the others at the water balloon station. Kushina and Tsume ended up arguing again, which resulted in Minato dragging her away to calm her down.

Minato lead her back to the Tower, because the fireworks would be starting soon. He wanted to be on time, since the fireworks were his favorite part about this whole night.

It had a fun night, yes, but the best part was definitely when they ended up back where they'd started.

They both leaned on the railing, waiting for the fireworks to shoot up and light up the sky. The stars shone so brightly, Minato and Kushina could see each other and everything around them perfectly.

"Kushina..." Said woman lowered her head so she could look at her husband. "Did you do all this for me?"

Kushina nodded, face brightening. "Aa!!! Me, and all of our friends. They helped me out so much. I just came up with the idea."

"When did you think to do this?" Minato asked, gratitude showing in his voice and in his eyes.

"Yesterday," Kushina grinned.

"So Mikoto and Fugaku weren't having problems with Itachi, were they?" Minato asked, amused.

Kushina shook her head sheepishly. "No, gomen."

Minato, as fast as lightning, like he normally was, had Kushina wrapped in his arms after she finished saying that. "Arigato, Kushina." He whispered in Kushina's ear, making her shiver from his hot breath.

When she recovered, she ran her hand along his jaw. "Yet, I don't feel like you've gotten the recognition you were supposed to get tonight..." She smirked. Her husband tilted his head.

Kushina grinned and grabbed his hand, leading him to the edge of the roof that looked down on all the people. "OI! KONOHA!" She yelled. All of the thousands of people on the floor looked up at her. "SAY HELLO TO YOUR HOKAGE!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd when they saw Minato, loud and excited. He waved at them. He adored them like a father loves his children. Kushina looked up at her husband.  "They love you."

"And I love you." Minato turned on his side. "And since you love me too, and Konoha loves us, let's give them a show."

Kushina blushed, looking down at the people. They were still watching the couple on the roof. "A-aa." She nodded her head. Minato's smile widened, and he captured her lips in his without warning.

Kushina tensed. If this was anyone else, she would've punched them off of her. But was Minato. Minato was safe, and warm. He was the only solid thing in her life, the rock unchanging through the wind and rain.

As a Jinchūriki, Kushina didn't have many things to herself in her life. Her life belonged to housing the Kyūbi. Her loyalties, to the village. Her freedom? Hah. What freedom?

But Minato was something that was all hers. He was always there, providing his cool warmth that not only cooled down Kushina's fire, but warmed her core, her heart. And that was the only place Kushina's own warmth couldn't reach. He made her complete.

So even in the chilly night air, when Minato was kissing her, she had all the warmth she needed.

And the cheers coming from below were much greater than anything Kushina had ever heard before.

When they pulled apart, both were flushed and laughing. The crowd below were still showing their approval.

All the noises stopped except for the voices of admiration when the fireworks went off.

Kushina watched, wrapped in her husband's arms, as the most beautiful light show she had ever seen flashed over her head. The colors reflected in her eyes, which was where Minato was looking. Both of them had a breathtaking sight before their eyes. Neither were ready for it to stop.

It had been hard to make, but this festival was definitely worth it. Not only did it please Minato, but the villagers were happy, and Kushina herself couldn't be happier.

She closed her eyes in Minato's embrace, knowing everything was alright now.

That was one of the best nights Kushina had ever had. She had never imagined she'd get this far, and have so much. Her friends, Mikoto, Minato... She didn't deserve them, but she loved them all.

A few weeks later Kushina discovered she was pregnant. And a couple months after that, when her baby was being born, the Kyūbi escaped.

And when that night-- the perfect one-- flashed before her eyes, tears welled up in them. There was a giant claw protruding from her stomach, and Minato was there behind her, in the same position.

There, before her, was her baby. Her Naruto. Crying, laying in that alter that was set up.

Kushina felt she was leaving. It was time to seal this monster into Naruto. Her own child. As she remembered what she had been through as a child, she cried for her baby.

Then it was time to go. Time to leave Naruto, and this world. Minato was ready to leave too, he was just holding on to see what Kushina said to their son.

When the mother said all she needed to say, and the pain became too much, Minato's arms steadily wrapped around Kushina. "Kushina," he whispered into her hair. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

And for the second time, the first being that perfect night, Kushina closed her eyes in Minato's embrace, knowing everything was alright now.